Quick opening device for sealed container



July 25, 1967 E. J. MEIERHoEr-ER QUICK OPENING' DEVICE FOR SEALED CONTAINER Filed March 14, 1966 United States Patent O 3,332,564 QUICK OPENING DEVICE FOR SEALED CONTAINER Eugene J. Meierhoefer, Columbus, Ghio, assigner to Abbott Laboratories, a corporation of Iliinois Filed Mar. 14, 1966, ser. No. 534,079 7 Claims. (Cl. 21S-11) ABSTRACT Fv THE DISCLOSURE A feeding bottle assembly having closure means cornprising a sealing disk, a nipple seated on the open end of a bottle, and an inner ferrule holding the sealing disk and the nipple against the open end of the bottle, an outer, -ferrule of thin frangible material clamping the closure means in sealing engagement with the open end of the bottle and a tear member between'the outer ferrule and the closure means. The tear member, which may be a thin nylon cord or a fine wire, is adapted to rupture the outer ferrule by an outward pull to break the seal and permit use of the bottle assembly.

This invention relates to a quick opening means for a sealed container, and is particularly concerned with a separate tear member that is assembled with the closure sealing a feeding bottle assembly containing an individual serving of water, a liquid milk product, or other liquid food, etc., in a sterile condition.

Although, for convenience, the invention will be described with particular reference to a specific type of bottle assembly, it will be understood that its advantages may be utilized in connection with any container having a closure member held in place by a member capable of being ruptured by a tear member of the type hereinafter described. y

In the illustrated arrangement, the feeding bottle assembly comprises a bottle having a finish terminating in an open end, closure means seated on the open end, and an outer ferrule holding the closure in sealing engagement with the bottle. The ferrule is preferably made of light gauge aluminum, but may be made of any suitable frangible material. A tear member has a portion thereof positioned between the outer ferrule and the inner components of the closure and glass finish at the time the ferrule is secured to the bottle.

The tear member is thin enough to permit the ferrule to be rolled into sealing engagement with the finish, and is tough enough to withstand the rolling operation without being cut thereby. The tear member may comprise a thin nylon cord or a fine wire of stainless steel, tungsten, etc. The tear member may be in the form of a single length of material having one end anchored at one edge of the ferrule and having gripping ymeans -at the other end, or may be in the form of a closed loop having sufiicient slack outside the ferrule to provide gripping means.

Suitable structure by means of which the above mentioned and other advantages of the invention are 4attained will be fully described in the following specification, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings showing illustrative embodiments of the invention, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view of a sealed container assembly showing a tear member embodying the invention;

FIGURE 2 is a view similar to FIGURE l showing another embodiment of the tear member; and

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary elevational view, on a reduced scale, of the structure shown in FIGURE 2.

In the drawings, a bottle 11, which may be made of glass, plastic, or any other suitable material, is provided 3,332,564 Patented July 25, 1967 ice with a suitable finish 12 that terminates in an open end 13. Closure means provided for the open end comprise a sealing disk 14, a nipple le, and an outer shroud 17. A sealing gasket 18 is interposed between the top of the finish and the outer edge portion of the sealing disk that is seated on the gasket. The nipple comprises a teat portion 19 and a laterally extending flange 21 adapted to seat on the outer edge portion of the sealing disk. This portion of the closure means is secured to the top of the bottle by an inner ferrule 22 that has an annular flange 23 overlying the outer edge portion of the nipple flange 21. The inner ferrule also has a tubular skirt portion 24 depending from the outer edge of the ange 23. The lower edge 26 of the skirt 24 is crimped under an upper bead 27 projecting outwardly from the outer surface of the finish 12. The inner ferrule 22 holds the outer edge portions of the ange 21 and the disk 14 tightly against the gasket 1S and the upper end of the finish to provide a primary seal.

The outer shroud 17 is preferably made of plastic, but may be made of any suitable rubber or metal, and com prises a dome 28 adapted to fit over the teat portion 19, and a flange 29 adapted to seat on the ferrule flange 23 and on a portion of the flange 21. The shroud flange 29 is held tightly against the top surface of the flange 23 by an outer ferrule 31, preferably made of thin aluminum or other frangible material that has sufiicient strength to hold the shroud in place. Preferably, the aluminum is of proper temper so that it may be rolled or spun into place without cutting the tearing member 32, hereinafter drescribed, and may be ruptured easily by the tearing member.

The tearing member 32 may be in the form of a thi cord of nylon or other tough plastic, or may be a thin wire or narrow fiat strip of stainless steel, tungsten, or

similar tough metal. The lower portion of the tearing member 32 extends between the inner surface of the outer ferrule 31 and the glass finish, the intermediate portion of the teating member extends between the inner surface of the outer ferrule and the outer surface of the inner ferrule 22, and the upper portion of the tearing member extends between the annular flange 33 of the outer ferrule Iand the dome fiange 29.

T-he annular fiange 33 of the outer ferrule is adapted to seat on the dome flange 29. The outer ferrule has a tubular skirt 34 having its lower edge 36 crimped or rolled under a lower bead 37 projecting outwardly from the finish 12. If the bottle has external Ithreads 38 between the beads 27 and 37, as many conventional ybottles do, the tubular skirt 34 may be rolled into engagement with the threads to provide added security for the holding engagement of the outer ferrule.

In FIGURE 1, the tearing member 32 comprises a single length of wire or cord anchored below the lower edge of the skirt 34, as indicated at 39. The element 39 may be in the form of a weldment or a knot if the tear member is in the form of a thin wire. The element 39 is usually a weldment if the tear member is a thin, fiat metal strip, and a knot if the tear member is a cord of nylon, or similar material.

The upper end of the tear member has a finger gripping device 41, shown in the form of a closed ring, to facilitate pulling the tear member outwardly to rupture the outer ferrule. The gripping device 41 may be integral with the tear member, or may be a separate member secured to one end of the tear member in any suitable manner. Ordinarily, the edge of the outer ferrule engaged by the tear member is of uniform strength along its entire length, and the tear strip may be pulled outwardly from any position around the inner edge of the flange 33. If the edge of the outer ferrule that is to be ruptured first is reinforced, as, for example, by a doubled. edge, said edge may be notched, and the tear member may be engaged with the notch. lf desired, the ends of the tear member may ybe reversed, and the outer ferrule may be torn upwardly from its lower edge. The tear strip ruptures the outer ferrule cleanly throughout its height, and the outer ferrule falls away from the bottle. The outer shroud 17 may then be removed easily, and the nipple 16 is exposed for use to permit feeding of the contents to a recipient.

ln FIGURE 2, the tear ymember 42 is considerably longer than the height of the outer ferrule, and its ends are knotted or Welded together to form a closed loop with enough slack outside the ferrule to provide a convenient gripping means for the tearing operation.

Although a few preferred embodiments of the invention have been described in considerable detail, it will be understood that the description thereof is intended to be illustrative, rather than restrictive, as many details of structure may be modified or chan-ged without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Accordingly, it is not desired to be restricted to the exact structure described.

What is claimed is:

1. A sealed bottle assembly comprising a bottle having a linish terminating in an open end, closure means cornprising nipple means seated on said open end and an inner ferrule holding said nipple means against said open end, an outer ferrule holding said closure means in sealing engagement with said bottle, and a tear member interposed between said outer ferrule land said closure means, said tear member havin-g suflicient strength to rupture said outer ferrule when pulled outwardly.

2. The bottle assembly of claim 1 in which said outer ferrule is metal and comprises a tubular skirt embracing said finish and an integral annular ange extending inwardly from one edge of said skirt, said annular flange having uniform resistance to rupture along its entire inner edge whereby said tear member may be pulled outwardly from any portion of the inner edge of said annular ange to rupture said outer ferrule.

3. The bottle assembly of claim 1 in which said outer ferrule comprises an annular ange overlying a portion of said closure means, and a tubular skirt embracing said finish, said skirt and said linish having interengageable means to secure said outer ferrule in place.

4. The bottle assembly of claim 1 in which said outer ferrule comprises a tubular skirt embracing said finish and an annular flange overlying a portion of said closure means, and said Vtear member is in the form of a closed loop encircling one portion of said skirt and ange in a 5D vertical direction and having sutiicient slack outside said outer ferrule to provide a hand grip to facilitate pulling said tear member outwardly.

5. The bottle assembly of claim 1 in which one end of Y said tear member is anchored below the lower edge of said ferrule and the other end of said tear member is provided with gripping means to facilitate pulling it outwardly.

6. A sealed bottle assembly comprising a bottle having a iinish terminating in an open end, said finish having an external projection, closure means seated on said open end, said closure means including nipple means covering said open end and inner ferr-ule means securing said nipple means against said open end, and an outer shroud enclosing said nipple means, an outer ferrule holding said closure means in sealing engagement with said bottle, said outer ferrule having an annular flange overlying a portion of said shroud to hold it in position, and a tubular skirt having a lower edge portion crimped over said external projection, and a tear member interposed between said outer ferrule and said closure means, said tear member having su'icient strength to rupture said outer ferrule when pulled outwardly.

7. A sealed bottle assembly comprising a bottle having a finish terminating in an open end, said finish having an external projection spaced from said open end, closure means seated on said open end and including a sealing disk and a nipple, an outer shroud having a lateral tiange overyling the outer edge'portions ofV said disk and nipple, a ferrule holding said sealing disk in sealing engagement with said bottle, said ferrule having an annular flange overlying said lateral ange and a tubular skirt embracing said iinish and having a lower edge portiony crimped over said external projection, and a tear member interposed between said errule and said closure means, and tear member having sutlicient strength to rupture said ferrule when pulled outwardly.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 985,000 2/ 1911 Braun. 1,604,063 10/ 1926 Miller 21S-46 2,397,948 4/ 1946 Conway 21S-46 2,432,132 12/1947 Allen 21S- 11 X 2,531,570 11/1950 Hoffman 21S-46 .X 3,219,221 11/1965 Ballin 215-11V FOREIGN PATENTS 510,646 9/ 1920 France. 340,874 1/ 1931 Great Britain.

JOSEPH R. LECLAIR, Primary Examiner. DONALD F. NORTON, Examiner. 

1. A SEALED BOTTLE ASSEMBLY COMPRISING A BOTTLE HAVING A FINISH TERMINATING IN AN OPEN END, ENCLOSURE MEANS COMPRISING NIPPLE MEANS SEATED ON SAID OPEN END AND AN INNER FERRULE HOLDING SAID NIPPLE MEANS AGAINST SAID OPEN END, AN OUTER FERRULE HOLDING SAID CLOSURE MEANS IN SEALING ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID BOTTLE, AND A TEAR MEMBER INTERPOSED BETWEEN SAID OUTER FERRULE AND SAID CLOSURE MEANS, SAID TEAR MEMBER HAVING SUFFICIENT STRENGTH TO RUPTURE SAID OUTER FERRULE WHEN PULLED OUTWARDLY. 